Privacy Policy — The Happy Helper

The short version: We collect the minimum data needed to run your account and make the product work. We don't sell your data. You can access, export, or delete it anytime. We comply with PIPEDA (Canadian federal privacy law).

1. Who We Are

The Happy Helper is operated by The Happy Outlet Ltd., based in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada. We're the "data controller" for your personal information — meaning we determine how and why it's processed.

Questions about your privacy? Email us at privacy@thehappyhelper.ca.

2. What Data We Collect

We collect only what's needed to run the service:

Category	What we collect	Why
Account info	Name, email, business name, trade type, password (hashed)	To create and manage your account
Business data	Customer records, jobs, quotes, invoices, notes you enter	Core product functionality — this is your data
Payment info	Billing address, last 4 digits of card (via Stripe)	To process subscription payments
Usage data	Pages visited, features used, session timestamps	To improve the product and fix bugs
Communications	Support emails and chat messages you send us	To respond to your requests
Device info	Browser type, OS, IP address	Security, debugging, analytics

We don't collect: sensitive personal information, health data, or information from minors under 18.

3. How We Use Your Data

To run your account and deliver the service you've paid for
To process payments and manage your subscription
To send transactional emails (job confirmations, invoices, alerts you've turned on)
To send product updates and service announcements (you can unsubscribe)
To improve features using aggregated, anonymized usage patterns
To detect fraud, abuse, and security threats
To comply with legal obligations

We do not use your data for advertising, sell it to third parties, or share it in ways not described here.

4. Data Storage & Security

Your data is stored on servers located in Canada and the United States, managed by trusted cloud providers (Render, Neon). We apply industry-standard security measures:

All data transmitted over HTTPS (TLS encryption)
Passwords stored as salted hashes — never in plain text
OAuth tokens encrypted at rest using AES-256-GCM
Regular security reviews and dependency updates
Access to production systems restricted to authorized personnel only

No system is 100% secure. If a data breach occurs that affects your personal information, we'll notify you within 72 hours as required by law.

5. Third-Party Services

We use a small set of third-party services to operate the platform. Each has its own privacy policy:

Stripe — Payment processing. Stripe handles your credit card data directly. We never see or store full card numbers. Stripe Privacy Policy →
Render — Cloud hosting for our servers and database
Neon — PostgreSQL database hosting
Anthropic — AI features (Claude). Input data is used only to generate responses; Anthropic does not train models on your business data by default

We don't use advertising networks, analytics resellers, or data brokers.

6. Data Retention & Deletion

We keep your data for as long as your account is active. When you cancel:

We retain your data for 30 days to allow reactivation
After 30 days, all personal and business data is permanently deleted from our systems
Some data may be retained longer to comply with legal obligations (e.g., billing records for tax purposes)

You can request immediate deletion at any time — see Your Rights below.

7. Your Rights

Under PIPEDA and British Columbia's PIPA, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Correction: Ask us to correct inaccurate information
Export: Download your business data (customers, jobs, invoices) in a portable format
Deletion: Request that we delete your account and all associated data
Withdraw consent: Opt out of non-essential communications at any time
Complaint: File a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) if you believe your rights have been violated

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@thehappyhelper.ca. We'll respond within 30 days.

8. Cookies & Tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies for:

Authentication: Keeping you logged in between sessions (essential)
Preferences: Remembering your settings (essential)
Analytics: Anonymous usage counts to understand how people use the app (can be blocked)

We don't use third-party advertising cookies. You can disable non-essential cookies in your browser settings without affecting core functionality.

9. PIPEDA Compliance

The Happy Helper complies with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Our key commitments under PIPEDA:

Accountability: The Happy Outlet Ltd. is responsible for personal information under our control
Identifying purposes: We tell you why we collect data before or at the time of collection
Consent: We obtain your consent for data collection and use
Limiting collection: We collect only what's necessary
Limiting use: We use data only for stated purposes
Accuracy: We keep your data accurate and up to date
Safeguards: We protect your data with appropriate security measures
Openness: Our privacy practices are publicly available (this document)
Individual access: You can access and correct your personal information
Challenging compliance: You can challenge our compliance with PIPEDA

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as our practices evolve. When we make material changes, we'll notify you by email at least 14 days before they take effect. The "last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the current version.

Contact & Privacy Officer

For privacy-related questions, access requests, or complaints, contact our Privacy Officer:

Email: privacy@thehappyhelper.ca
Mailing address: The Happy Outlet Ltd., Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada

You also have the right to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada with complaints.